I am 36 years old and in less than three weeks I will be swimming, biking, and running in my first sprint triathlon.
I have been looking at historical and statistical data about finish times for all of these events and I am afraid, again, of coming in last place overall for the entire race because I am such a slow swimmer!
You see, I do a side-stroke which isn’t conducive to speed. It takes a lot of endurance to swim freestyle. If I really wanted to become a competitor in a race like this I would have to learn the freestyle stroke and become proficient at it.
I have really been surprised by all of the stories I have read online on different websites and blogs about people who did all of their swim training in a pool and never once set foot in open water until race day. I guess I never realized there were so many people out there like me. I just happen to have a great husband who is willing to push me out of my comfort zone. And in this case purely for safety reasons! Ben is an excellent swimmer and has logged miles upon miles in a pool for this race.
Two weeks ago he decided we better practice in the open water. Even though I felt OK out there I still need to practice and time out the whole distance. We will do that this weekend. Then I will have a better idea of how I might end up in this race. Ben, on the other hand, swam the perimeter of the entire lake. But, he’s a beast!
I don’t know how the weather is in your part of the world but here in Idaho wetsuits are nearly a must! They apparently help with buoyancy and obviously the freezing cold water.
I have never been more aware of the number of people who have anxiety about the open water until I entered this race and started talking to them. A lot of people will not even attempt a triathlon simply because of the swim. I guess people have drowned in triathlons before. Hence the duathlon!
Could not resist including this pic of my HOT hubby!
Our little cheering section. Mainly he just throws rocks at us while we swim.
And they say it is not quite full yet.
How do you feel about swimming in open water?
Note: The course map photo was copied from the Personal Best Performance website and is a product of One Million Revolutions (Google). If you click on it it will take you to the map and you can trace each race trail and see each race distance.
WHOA, firefighter eye candy!
Ah, yes! I’m one lucky lady!
You guys are WINNING, and I concur, your spouse is hot….
Thanks! I hope you are getting better on your feet. And I hope Fran is well too. Kiss all those sweet babies for me!
Damn! That is enough to make me want to change teams! Ben is looking good. Everyone misses him out at the site.